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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — RTI International, a nonprofit research institute, on behalf of the North Carolina Center for Optimizing Military Performance (NC-COMP), has received the Warfighter Brain Health (WBH) Technology Integration award through the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) Other Transaction Authority (OTA).
The project will support the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity (USAMMDA) Warfighter Brain Health Program Management Office (WBH PMO) in rapidly developing and delivering innovative technologies for preventing, assessing, monitoring and treating traumatic brain injury (TBI) and behavioral health in active-duty U.S. military personnel.
“We are excited to lead this effort as it’s well aligned to RTI’s mission of improving the human condition,” said Dennis McGurk, Ph.D., RTI’s strategic account executive for the Department of Defense. “Developing innovative solutions related to TBI and behavioral health is critical to keeping Service Members healthy and able to complete their missions as well as protecting their long-term neurological health during and after their military careers.”
The initial project will focus on finding the optimal field assessment device for assessing TBI in military personnel at or near the point of injury. It will also involve working in partnership with USAMMDA’s WBH PMO and the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence (MedCoE) Medical Capability Development and Integration Directorate (CDID) to develop and refine how an assessment capability will be used in the field during military operations. RTI will manage the research and will work with other NC-COMP partners, including the Fort Bragg Research Institute/Geneva Foundation, Emerging Technology Institute PPD and IconGPHS to evaluate prototypes, provide testing facilities and analyze the effectiveness of new innovations.
Traumatic brain injury has been identified as a signature injury of recent combat operations with around 25% of Soldiers evacuated from Iraq having experienced a head or neck injury. While the majority of TBI cases were labeled mild, even mild cases can be debilitating to individuals and pose a significant risk to long-term health.
NC-COMP, led by RTI, brings together a team of more than 80 organizations from academia, research, technology and industry, in partnership with the DoD, to deliver innovative solutions to improve the health and performance of military Service Members.
Learn more about RTI’s military support
About RTI International
RTI International is an independent, nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition. Clients rely on us to answer questions that demand an objective and multidisciplinary approach — one that integrates expertise across the social and laboratory sciences, engineering and international development. We believe in the promise of science, and we are inspired every day to deliver on that promise for the good of people, communities and businesses around the world. For more information, visit www.rti.org.
About the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command
The U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command is the Army's medical materiel developer, with responsibility for medical research, development, and acquisition. USAMRDC produces medical solutions for the battlefield with a focus on various areas of biomedical research, including military infectious diseases, combat casualty care, military operational medicine, medical chemical and biological defense. https://mrdc.amedd.army.mil/
About MTEC
The Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium is a 501(c)(3) biomedical technology consortium that is internationally-dispersed, collaborating with multiple government agencies under a 10-year renewable Other Transaction Agreement with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command. The consortium focuses on the development of medical solutions that protect, treat, and optimize the health and performance of U.S. military personnel and civilians. To find out more about MTEC, visit mtec-sc.org.
The views expressed in this news release/article are those of the authors and may not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
Photo: U.S. Department of Defense
